The lull in placements for engineering graduates is a serious concern. More than a lakh engineers are graduating from the state annually. But the placement record seems to be very poor, leaving them with a choice of either to be under-employed or join the rat race again after pursuing higher studies.

The main reason is the poor quality of graduates with little soft skills. Understanding this, the city has seen a surge in students taking up language classes. For a state that patronises its language to the extent that it shunted Hindi out, foreign languages are being preferred now. Thanks to Trump and the Brexit mood, people are looking out to farther territories. To get an opportunity there, language is a key.

German, Japanese, Russian and French are the top languages that are learnt in Chennai. Learning a foreign language adds value to one’s resume. A Japanese company hired a fresher just because his resume read out that he knew Japanese.

Language centers in the city are overflowing with requests. Several companies have also started to train employees in specific languages to tap markets across.

Learners of the Chinese language have also increased in the city, with China

having a huge potential for jobs, education and business.

This change in trend might force educational institutions to expand their offerings and trigger students to opt courses that add more value.

IE, the business magazine from south was launched in 1968 and pioneered business journalism in south. Through the 45 years IE has been focusing on well-presented and well-researched articles. When giants in the industry stumbled to keep pace with the digital revolution, IE stayed affixed embracing technology.